Hospital bed



spL 17,1946. @MEHR 2,407,892

HOSPITAL BED Fild May 2o, 1943 @sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR 'zzio Nez' sept 17, 1946. o. MEHR 2,407,892

HOSP-ITAL BED BY 'WMM T An'oRNE sept; 17,1946

O. MEHR HOSPITAL BED Filed -May 20, 1943` 6 Shee-tS-She-et 4 i INVENTOR @fa Jfer man? ma Q, MEHR 2,407,892

HOSPITAL BED Filed may 2o, 194:5 e sheets-slumy 5 27! ,fny 6.

INVENTOR ca. MEHR HOSPITAL BED Sept. 17, 1946.

Filed -May 20, 1943 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 ff [B/ f l O .Y f' y@ 2f im? 36 INVENTOR Zio vffehr BY WWMVMV ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 17, 1946 ganan UNITED STATES vPATENT OFFICE HOSPITAL BED Otto Mehr, North Bergen, N. J.

Application May 20, 1943, Serial No. 487,702

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a hospital bed. An object of the invention is to provide a bed with reclining surfaces which can be disposed at many different angles to accommodate a patient in different positions and aid in moving the patient from one position to another. Another object is to provide a bed of this character with a removable portion near the center of the leg-supporting part of the bed. Still another object is to provide a bedpan support for the bed to facilitate the use and handling of this article with the greatest comfort to the patient and minimum labor to the nurse or attendant.

Looking at the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the bed with certain parts thereof shown in raised position;

Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly broken away, of one side ofthe bed;

Fig. 3 is a section through 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation from the foot of the bed;

Fig. 5 is a section through 5--5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a section through 5 5 of Fig.' 2;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of part of the bed;

Fig. 8 is a section through 3-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a section through 9--9 of Fig. 10 showing one of the leg rests in raised position;

Fig. 10 is a plan View of the central leg-supporting portions of the bed;

Fig. l1 is a detail of the leg support and prop therefor;

Fig. 12 is a section through I2--I2 of Fig. 11;

Figs. 13 and 14 are fragmentary views, partly in section, of part of the bed.

In the following description and claims, the terms bottom, foot, top, head, right and left are used in relation to an occupant of the bed lying on his back. The bottom or foot of the bed is the end near the occupants feet, the top or head of the bed is the end near his head, the left is the side near the occupants left arm, and the right the side near his right arm,

That portion of the bed framework adapted to support the torso of the patient occupying the bed comprises side rails I and 2 and end rails 3 and 4 which together form a rectangle. This portion of the framework is supported on four legs disposed at the corners of the rectangular frame made up of the side and end members, which legs are shown at 5, 3, "I, and 8,

The leg supporting surfaces of the bed are mounted on a framework made up of a transverse member I attached to the cross member 4 and longitudinally disposed frame members Il, i2, I3, and I4 (Fig. 4). These longitudinal frame members are arranged in pairs and the members of each pair are joined together at the foot of the bed by transverse pieces I5 and I6. Members i I and I2 are joined together by the transverse piece I5, and frame members I3 and I4 by transverse piece I6. These longitudinal members II and I2 and I3 and I4 form Xed leg-supporting frames disposed along the outside of the bed near the lower portion thereof. Each pair is supported at the bottom end by a pair of legs. Legs I i and I8 support the members Il and I2, and the legs I9 and 2i) support members I3 and M. The top edges of members II and I2 are joined together by a fiat member 2l, and members I3 and I4 by a similar member 22. Members 2| and 22 form the fixed leg-supporting surfaces for the bottom of the bed.

Between the surfaces 2i and 22 is a central leg-supporting member 25 adapted to move 1ongitudinally of the bed in tracks 26 and 2l which are attached to frame members I2 and I3, respectively. Member 25 is hinged transversely intermediate its length as shown at 4,57. The member 25 may be wholly or partly removed by drawing it outwardly from the foot of the bed, thus leaving the space between the members 2l and 22 unobstructed. On the sliding member 25 are mounted a pair of folding leg `rests 28 and 29. These leg-supporting members are hinged at the middlethereof, as shown at 30 and 3|, respectively, and at the upper ends thereof they are hinged. to the member 25 at 32 and 33.

The ends of members 23 and 29 have a short turned-up portion shown at 34 in Fig. 9. These end portions are designed to engage underneath transversely disposed tracks 35, 35 and 35 which run across member 25 near the lower end thereof to hold the leg supports in the general position shown in Fig. 1.

Supports 23 and 29 may also be positioned as shown in Fig. 9, that is, with the lower part thereof supported in a horizontal plane. This is accomplished by means of suitable Supporting upright members, one of which is shown at 36. This member and its cooperation with member 25 is shown in Figs. 11 and 12. Longitudinally of member 25 are a pair of grooves 31 and 38 (Fig. 10) which are located under the center line of supports 28 and 29 near the lower or foot end thereof. to accommodate the supports 36. Each support 36 has two hinges, one near the middle thereof, such as that shown at 39 (Fig. 11), and one near 'I'hese grooves are designed one end thereof, such as that shown at liti. That portion of the supporting member which is shown in the groove 3l is marked 36 and is somewhat wider than the groove 3l and designed to slide in slots and 4| (Fig. 12). That portion of the member Swhich is shown in a vertical position in Fig. l1 and which is marked 3S is somewhat narrower than the groove El? so as to permit the whole support to slide back and forth in the grooves il and 4|. The hinge 32 is so constructed that the member 3.5 can move in a counterclockwise direction from the position shown in Fig. 11, but cannot move any further in a clockwise direction therefrom. On the hinge S is a short square-cut catch marked il?. When this is raised into the position shown in Figs ll and l2, it will lock against the tracks 35, or 35" and prevent the support from moving to the right, as seen in Fig. 11. Because of the hinge construction which permits the element 42 to move in a clockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 11, the whole support may slide to the left, in which event the member [i2 can be dropped'down and slid along inside the groove 3l.

This construction permits the support 33 to ber located in various positions longitudinally of the member 25 and at' the same time prevents movement of the support 36 to the right, as seen in Fig. 9, after the locking member i2 is raised and forced into contact with the tracks S55, S5' or 35.

Suitable holes in leg supports 28 and 2S are designed to receive the upper ends of supports 35, as shown in Fig. 11. One of these holes is shown at43 (Fig. 11). A block lill may be used to more readily locate the support in relation to the hole 43.

The member 25 is hinged transversely near the center thereof at d5. When the supporting members 23 and 29 are lying flat on the member 25, hinges 3E) and 3| will lie above hinge 65. With this construction the member 25 may be drawn out until the hinge l5 reaches the lower edge of the bed and then the projecting portion of the member 25 and the leg-supporting members 2S and 22 may be dropped down into the position shown in Fig. 2.

The torso-supporting portion of the bed Vincludes a rectangular framework made up of longitudinal members 5| and 52 and transverse members 5Sy and 54 (Fig. l). These members 5|, 52, 53, and 5f each have an L-shaped cross section, with the horizontal surface thereof forming the bottom of the framework. This rectangular framework is hinged at 55 and 56 to the longitudinal members and 2 and is designed so that the head end may be raised and lowered, pivoting around the pivot points 55 and 56. The mechanism for accomplishing this result consists of two pairsV of hinged arms, one pair at each side of the framework.

At the right side of the bed are arms 5l and 58 (Fig. 1), and at the left side of the bed are arms 59 and 8|) (Fig. 5). Arms 5l and 58 are hinged together at 6|, and arms 59 and @il at 62. The end of arm 59 opposite to pin fi?. is keyed to transverse shaft t3. Arm 5l is attached to a short depending lever S4 which is also mounted on the shaft 6?'. Lever 64 is equipped with a nut 65 through which passes a threaded shaft 8E which extends down to the foot of the bed and on which is a crank 67. This shaft is mounted in a suitable bearing E8 on angle support 69 which is secured totransverse piece 'lil connecting members and l2.' The upper end of arms -58 and 69 are pivotally connected at 1| and 72,

When the crank 61 is turned so as to rotate lever f' clockwise (Fig. 1) around shaft S3, arms 5l andY 59 are also rotated in the same direction, and the ends with pins 5| and 62 move upwardly, with the result that the main movable framework of the bed also moves upwardly. In this fashion the main framework may be pivoted around the pivot points 55 and 56. Because the cross piece 3 is lower than transverse members 'and 2, the main movable framework may be lowered below a horizontal piane so that the head thereof may move below the top of the members i .and 2. This is desirable because sometimes it is necessary to maintain the patients head lower thanhis feet.

Within the main movable framework at the y torso-supporting end of the bed are a pair of auxiliary frames, each of which is hinged along the longitudinal center line of the bed. The auxiliary framework at the right side of the bed consists of transverse members E6 and i1 (Fig. l) connected together by longitudinal members 'lil and l@ (Fig. 3). This auxiliary framework is pivoted at 8i! and Si (Fig. 2) to the main transverse members 53 and 5e of the main movable framework. A similar framework is disposed on the left side of the bed and consists of longitudinal members $3 and 842 (Fig. 3) and transverse members 85 and St (Fig. 5). This auxiliary framework is also pivoted to the transverse members 53 and 5% of the main movable framework at 89 and 9U. l Y

The left-hand auxiliary framework may be moved about its pivot points 85 and 9@ by means cf pivoted arms la@ and lSi (Figs. 2 and 5) so that the outer edge of said framework may `be raised and lowered. Arms ifi@ and Eel are keyed to a longitudinal shaft lil?. mounted on a suitable supporting bracket |533. keyed or pinned to shaft 92 and carries .a nut l $5 through which is a threaded shaft |66. Upon rotation of shaft lili, arm lil@ is moved so as to rotate shaft m2 which in turn rotates arms |00 and till so that the auxiliary framework on the left side of the lbed may be moved about the pivot points 89 and Si) to raise or lower the outer edge thereof.

rPhe corresponding auxiliary framework on the right side of the bed may be moved about its pivot points in a similar manner, Arms |28 and |09 are equipped at the free ends thereof with rollers |ll and lil (Fig. 1), respectively, designed to cooperate with suitable tracks l l2 and H3 on the underside of the right-hand auxiliary framework. Arms Hi8 and |99 are keyed or pinned to longitudinally disposed shaft l5 which is mounted in suitable supporting brackets H6. Depending from shaft l5 is an arm i8 equipped with a nut H9 through which passes threaded shaft |20. Shaft E2@ runs transversely of the bed to the left side thereof and is supported on bearing |2| (Fig. 2) and at the outer` end is equipped with a suitable shank i22 to receive a removable crank. Upon rotation of shaft |22', arms m8 and |09 move about the shaft ||5 and serve to raise and Vlower the outer edge of the right-hand auxiliary framework, moving it about its pivot points and 8|. Y

In the upper portion of each auxiliary movable framework is a secondary hinged framework designed to pivot on a transverse line disposed about half-way between the bottom and top of the torso portion of the bed. This secondary framework Depending arm |64 is for the right-hand side of the bed comprises transverse members I 25 and |26 and longitudinal members |21 and |28. .A longitudinal track |30 is dispo-sed on the underside of this secondary framework. The framework is pivoted at |3| to the right hand auxiliary movable framework. This secondary framework supports a flat sheet |33.

The left-hand side of the bed is equipped with a similar secondary hinged framework made up of transverse members |35 and |36 and longitudinal members |31 and |38. This secondary framework supports a flat surface member |40 and the whole framework is hinged at |4| to the left hand auxiliary movable framework. This left-hand secondary framework is also equipped with a suitable track |42 on the underside thereof.

The head ends of both the secondary frameworks are adapted to be raised and lowered by means of a pair of pivoted arms shown at |50 (Fig. 1) and |52 (Fig. 5). Arm |50 is designed to raise the right-hand secondary framework, and arm |52 the left-hand one, but both are designed to move in unison. Arms |50 and |52 are keyed or pinned to transverse sleeve 52s which is mounted on shaft 63 (Figs. 13 and 14). To sleeve 62s is attached a depending arm |55 equipped with a nut 56 in which operates a threaded shaft |51 which runs longitudinally of the bed, down to the foot thereof. This shaft is supported on brackets (i9 and is equipped at the end thereof with a suitable crank |58, Upon rotation of this shaft, transverse sleeve 62s rotates in its bearings and moves arms 5E) and |52, which, in turn, raise and .lower together the right and left secondary frameworks so that the head of a patient in the bed may be raised or lowered.

At the head of the bed are a pair of hinged supports. The support at the right-hand side is shown at |60, and that at the left side at IBI. These may be swung toward the longitudinal center line of the bed or away therefrom. When swung inwardly, they serve to support the head end of the main movable framework when said framework is lowered down onto said supports. When it is desired to move the framework down lower than the horizontal plane, these supports are swung outwardly into the dotted position of support |6| shown in Fig. 2 and this permits this main movable frame to move down below the horizontal plane at the head end.

With the construction heretofore described it will be seen that the center portion of the legsupporting part of the bed may be entirely removed by sliding it out as heretofore described. The leg-supporting surfaces on this portion may be raised to support either or both legs in nearly any desired position. The torso-supporting portion of the bed is pivoted as a whole near the lower part thereof so that the head of it may be raised or lowered. 'Ihe head part of this Whole upper portion of the bed raises and lowers on operation of one of the crank arms. Upon operation of a similar crank arm, only the upper half of this torso-supporting portion may :be raised and lowered at the head. Provision is also made for raising and lowering the outer edges of either side of the torso-supporting portion of the bed so that a. longitudinal trough may be formed in the center of the bed or either or both sides may beA used to assist in` turning the patient over in bed.

A unique feature of this hospital lbed is the support for a bedpan or similar utensil. This consists in general of a transverse track disposed underneath the frame of the leg-supporting surface of the bed near the head end of said legsupporting portion. That portion of this track which is near the center of the bed is on a platform supported on `a longitudinally arranged track so that that portion of the support may be moved up under the lower part of the torso-supporting part of the bed so as to leave the center part of the leg-supporting portion unobstructed after the center support is removed as heretofore described.

The transverse track comprises rails V200 and 25|. This transverse'track may be divided into three portions, an outside movable portion shown at O, a central stationary portion shown at C, and an inside movable portion `shown at I. The outside portion O is mounted on a hinged platform 204. I'his platform is hinged transversely at 205 at a point midway between the outside and inside edges thereof. That portion of the platform between the end of tracks 200 and 20| and the inside edge is designed to slide inside the stationary track-supporting portion C as shown at 266 (Fig. 8). When the hinged part 204 is raised into the position shown in Fig. 4, the supporting portion O may be pushed inside of the stationary portion C so that it will remain in the position shown in Fig. 4 and when in this position that portion of the tracks 209 and 20| on supporting portion O will make a continuous track with the corresponding,r portions on the stationary central support C. When not in use, this portion O may be folded down, as shownin Fig. 8, merely by removing it part away from the center portion C and allowing it to drop down about the hinge 205.

The inside part (or portion I) of the tracks Eef.) and 20| is mounted on a movable car 2|0. This movable car is equipped with wheels 2| I, 2|2, 2|3, and 2|4, which run on longitudinal tracks 2|5 and 2|. Tracks 2|5 and 2|6 run longitudinally of the bed on the underside thereof in the middle. They are suspended :from the underside of the bed by means of track supports 2|5 and 256. They extend from a point somewhat below the middle of the leg-supporting portion of the bed back under the lower part of the torso-supporting portion of the bed. A Small carrier car 2|3 mounted on wheels 2|9, EIS', 220, and 225 is designed to carry the bedpan. or other utensil and travel along tracks 200 and 20| from outside the edge of the bed to the center of the bed. A suitable sliding locking pin 225" is designed to look car 2|0 in place so that the tracks on portion I will line up with the tracks on stationary portion C when it is desired to move the car 218 from the portion I to the portion C' or vice versa. Pin or bolt 220 slides transversely of the bed in channel 220e.

On the car 2|@ is a vertically movable platform 229 which is mounted `on a vertical column 222, the bottom portion of which is slotted. A transverse arm'223 is connected to the bottom of a movable column 223', the upper end of which forms a locking pin 265. To the outer ends of arm 223 are attached cables 224 and 225 running over pulleys 226 and 221, which pulleys are mounted on the vertical casing 228 attached to the underside of the car 2|0. A pair of reels 239 and 23| designed to be rotated by shaft 232, to which is attachedcrank 233, are adapted to reel up cables 224 and 225 to lift the vertically movable column 223 in the side slots in column 222, which latter carries on top thereof the platform which supports the tracks 200 and 20| on which the movable support 2|8 is designed to` ride.

7 When cross armV 223 reaches the top of the slots in column 222, the latter will rise on the arm and carry the platform 22| upwardly.

A suitable stop member 24B against which the car 2|8 may be positioned to hold it in a predetermined location is on top of the vertically movable platform 22|. Inside stop 24|] is a pulley 2t Yover which passes a flexible cable 242, one end of which is attached to one side of car 2|8 and Y the other end to the other side of 'car 2|8. 'Ihe cable is long enough so that the excess comes well outside the edge of the bed where it can be conveniently manipulated to draw the car 2|8 in and out along tracks 2m) and 2|l|.

The tracks 209 and 251| are'lined up so that those portions of the tracks which are on por-V tion I of the support are in alignment with portions of the tracks on support C. Locking pin 228 isdesigned to hold car 2|@ in such position that all parts of the tracks 2&1@ and 20| will bev in alignment and, of course, when so positioned, the car 2|8 may roll freely along tracks 26E] and 2i!! from the portion designated by O right straight through the portion designated I or back again.

Column 222 may be raised and lowered in the casing 228 by means of the cable and pulley arrangement heretofore described and, when in the raised position, is held there by catch 246 (Fig. 5) which catch is controlled by handle 2M on shaft 22S (Fig. 4). Upon rotation of shaft 248 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figs. l and 5, links 2432, 256, and 26@ will move in a clockwise direction about pivot point 26|. The left end (Fig. 1) of link Zeil permits the catch 246 to move counterclockwise around pivot point 252 and disengage from arm 223 to permit it to drop into its lowered position.

. Locking pin 225 on column 223' slides up through the platform 22| upon initial upward movement of arm 223 and engages U-shaped member 255 on the bottom of car 2|8. 'Ihe upper end of it is formed into a fiat locking member. This flat locking member is designed to engage the underside of the car 2 t to make it immovable on the platform 22|. As the arm 223 is raised, it initially raises the member 223 until the flat locking end 255 engages the car 2|3 and prevents motion thereof. Further upward movement of the bar 2223 into the dotted position shown in Fig. 6 serves to engage the lower edges of column 222, and as the bar 223 is lifted further, the platform 243 mores upwardly with it, carrying the tracks and the car 2|8 up to a level so that the top of said car is in approximately the same horizontal pla-ne as the upper surface of the bed.

` In operation, when it is desired to move a bedpan or similar utensil in towards the center ofthe bed, it may be deposited on the car 2|S, when said car is in the position shown in Fig.

By pulling on flexible cable 2&2, which cable passes around the pulley 21M, the car may be drawn in until it is over the "flat plate 2&3. After the central lower portion of the bed, which has been designated as 25, has been drawn out and lowered as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the car-supporting platform 243 may be raised by turning crank 233. This will serve to wind up the cables 2213 and 225 on the pulleys 231i and 23| so that, as the bar 223 raises, the locking upper end portion 265 of the inner telescoping column 223 first locks the car in position. Continued upward movement ofthe bar 223 picks up the outer movable telescoping member 222 and carries it with the supporting platform 243 upward until the 8 upper position shown inFig. 5 is reached when the bar 223 is locked in place by catch M6.

`When it is desired to lower the platform 243, the locking catch control handle 2M 'is rotated, the catch 2455 released, and the platform 243 drops of.. its own weight or may be slowly lowered with the aid of crank 233. The car may be drawn out by means of the cable 262. After the bedpan or other utensilis removed, the car may be pushed back onto the platform 243, the track-supporting portion O may be dropped into the position shown in Fig. 7, and the whole elevating mechanism mounted on carriage 22| which is supported on the wheels 2 3 and 2 I4 may be rolled back toward the head of the bed until it is under the torsosupporting portion of the bed, thus leaving an unobstructed passageway between the two stationary leg-supporting portions of the bed, to which access may be hadby complete removal of the portion 25. Sometimes it is advantageous to arrange a head iece on a bed of this kind and one is shown at 2'55 secured to the transverse member 3 by means of bolts 2'55 and 2!1 which pass through annular spacing members Z'i' and 219. The head of the bed may be secured between the head of the bolts and one end of the spacing members, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5.

I claim: 1. The combination with a hospital bed having a frame, a torso-supporting portion and a legsupporting portion mounted on said frame, of a centrally disposed section slidably mounted in said leg-supporting portion for movement to provide an opening in said leg-supporting portion, a bedpan support and track means disposed underneath the leg-supporting portion, means mounting said track means on said frame for disposition from a point beneath said opening to a position beyond an edge of said frame, said support being movable along said track means from a station below said opening to a station outside said frame, said track mounting means including a platform located underneath the leg-supporting portion, means mounting said platform on said bed frame for movement in a horizontal direction therebeneath, including means for raising t and lowering said platform, a portion of said track said leg-supporting portion for movement to provide an opening in said leg-supporting portion, a

bed-pan support and track means disposed underneath the leg-supporting portion, means mounting said track means on said frame for Vdisposition from a point beneath said opening to a position beyond an edge of said frame, said support being movable along said track means from a station in register with said opening to a station out of register with said opening, said track mounting means including a platform located underneath the leg-supporting portion, means mounting said platform on said bed frame for raising and lowering said platform, a portion of said track means being carried upon said platform and movable therewith in the raising and lowering thereof, said movable portion of said track means being thereby adapted to be aligned with the non-movable portion, whereby said bed pan support may be placed upon the movable platform and raised therewith into said opening or may be lowered from said opening and moved along said track means.

3. The combination with a hospital bed having a frame and a leg-supporting portion mounted on said frame, of a centrally disposed section slidably mounted in said leg-supporting portion for movement to provide an opening in said legsupporting portion, a bed-pan support and track means disposed underneath the leg-supporting portion, means mounting said track means on said frame for disposition from a point beneath said opening to a position beyond an edge of said frame, said support being movable along said track means from a station below said opening to a station outside said frame, said track mounting means including a platform underneath the leg-supporting portion, means mounting said platform o-n said bed frame for movement in a direction substantially parallel to said leg-supporting portion, including means for raising and lowering said platform, a portion of said track means being carried upon said platform and movable therewith, said movable portion of said rack means being thereby adapted to be aligned with the non-movable portion, whereby said bed pan support may be placed upon the movable platform and raised therewith into said opening or may be lowered from said opening and moved along said track means.

OTTO MEHR. 

